I'm a What!
by Dust in the Wind
Summary: An eighteen year old girl gets thrown into the wonderful world of Tolkien and gets caught up in the mix. What will happen? Will she finally find where she belongs. .
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The places and names there of belong to Tolkien. Jess and Alexa are original

Prologue: The Forgotten Ring

It began with the forgings of the great rings:

Three to the Elves; immortal, wisest, and fairest of all beings.

Seven to the Dwarf Lords; great miners and craftsman of the mountain halls.

Then nine, nine rings were gifted to the race of Men; who above all else, desire power.

But there is another ring which all has forgotten, for none now live who remember. The race's time has long since past and their memory long forgotten, lost within the dim minds of men, faded from the hearts of elves, and pushed aside in the dark mines of dwarves.

Do not fear, for their time will soon come once more, they shall creep back into forests of Middle Earth, and the ring bearer will once again bear her races ring one last time.

For within each of these rings was bound the strength and will to govern each race. But they were all of them deceived… For another ring was made…..

Chapter One: Morning Comes and Goes Too Fast!

It was a mid-night, the stars shone brightly against the deep blue sky. All was silent, mothers having put their children to bed hours ago, then joining their husbands to sleep. A light breeze passed through an opened window rustling the sheets of a young person's bed. A girl, no older than the age of eighteen, tossed and turned restlessly in her bed as the sheets tangled themselves around her feet.

_The rustle of skirts could be herd as a young woman ran franticly down a barely lit corridor, in her hands a small child clung desperately to her. The young mother skidded to a halt near the end of the corridor. At the end stood three doors, one on her left, one on her right, and the third was right in front of her. She looked at all three doors, and then quickly picked the door to her right. Once in the small-unlit room she gently set her child down on the floor. She then went to walk away, the child got up and followed her._

"_Mama, where're you going?"_

_The mother turned around and knelt in front of her daughter._

"_I have to go little one, but I will come back for you."_

"_With daddy?"_

"_Yes little one, with daddy" there was a loud crash along with many heavy and loud footsteps. The woman looked towards the door then back, starting to panic, but not daring to show it, she wouldn't scare the child. She took her child's small face gently into her hands._

"_My child, please stay in here, find some place to hid and stay silent, no matter what happens do not come out until your father and I come back for you. Do you under stand, love?"_

"_Yes mama" She gave her daughter a hug, and then stood up to leave, she looked down at her daughter, there were tears in her eyes._

"_Do not cry my child, be strong, there is hope still. We will come back." Then she left, closing the door behind her then locking it with a key. The small girl walked towards the door and peeked through the keyhole._

_Back in the corridor, her mother ran for the door across from the child's room, but it was too late. By the time her mother reached and went to enter the room, she was surrounded by a horde of ugly, distorted, faces black as night with red demon eyes. _

Alexa woke with a start. A cold sheen of sweat covered her face and she gasped for breath.

Later that morning everyone was still nestled quietly in their warm beds in a deep peaceful slumber, dreaming of sweet things to come. Well all that is, except for one person. Alexa sat upon a tree limb staring endlessly at the large orange orb slowly rising over the horizon. She sat there, deep in thought, oblivious to the world around her. She had been up since one am trying to clear her mind of the dream but one thought lead to another, then that thought lead to a question just to cause another thought to appear and that process continued until she missed the rooster's call. Seconds turned to minutes and minutes into hours. Then suddenly her thoughts where broken by the call of her name.

"Alexa! Where are you? Alexa!"

Which caused her to smile, she would finally have a distraction from her thoughts. Alexa let herself fall backward so that she was hanging up side down, and was now face to face with her foster mother,

"Damn it Alex, don't do that!" she said startled but then sighed. "I should have known you'd be here. Are you all right? I made you breakfast, then went to the pastures to feed the horses and cattle. When I came back it was still there I was worried. That was at one in the morning, it's now high noon."

"Sorry Jess. I couldn't sleep and it comforts me to know that they are watching so I came here to think, I guess I lost track of time. Morning seems to come and go so fast these days. "

"That's alright. Come you must be hungry. Let's get lunch than you can clean the attic like you said you would."

"Alright….hey I never said I'd clean the attic!"

Jess put an arm a round Alex's shoulder and they started to walk to the house.

"You just did" Jess smiled.

"But that will take forever."

"No it won't, and then once you are done with that the rest of the day may be yours to do what you wish. So I suggest you hurry and get a move on or it will take forever."

Authors note: I would like to thank my beta. This is much better then before spelling and grammar wise. Thank you.

Dust in the Wind


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: See first chapter.  
Thanks to Beta: See first chapter also.

**Chapter Two: The Attic **

Alexia raced anxiously through the dense wood, through endless fields of corn and wheat along with the many pastures of grazing cattle or horses until she finally went through the front door and up the stairs to the attic._ 'The sooner I get this done the better.' _She thought, _'That also means the sooner I can take Romonia out for a ride.' _Romonia was her mare.

Alexia got to the attic door, opened it slowly and walked in. The lights were off giving it a light misty creepy feel to it. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling, and the only light that lit the room was from a single window. You could see the light shine through as the dust slowly settled over everything. Alexia scanned the area. Piles of cardboard boxes lay in the one corner covered in layers of dust and cobwebs. On the other side of the attic was old furniture no longer in use covered by old sheets that were once white, but are now dark gray due to dust that had collected there over the years. After seeing all of the work that was laid before her, she slowly crept in the rest of the way.

"Well I better get started," she said out loud to her self. She looked around one more time then got to work. Since she was told not to worry about the furniture, she went through the boxes and discarded anything that was not needed or no longer used.

It was then as she finished the last box that she noticed something out of the corner of her eyes. Something was glowing an array of different colors on the opposite side of the room, obviously covered by a sheet for it was a very dim light, but bright enough for someone to notice it. Of course being the curious little teenager she is Alexia got up from where she was resting and walked over to it. Alexia's eyes widened as she unveiled it, revealing an exquisite chest, which was covered with many different kinds of precious stones, which caught the late evening sunlight causing it to shine and shimmer even more. The light was so bright Alexia had to quickly cover her eyes and look away. She franticly felt around on the floor for the sheet that had covered it. Since she couldn't find it she eventually gave up and blindly made her why towards the window. '_I am so glad that I cleaned this place up before I found that.' _Alexia thought to herself. She got to the window and quickly closed the shutter.

"Ah that's better now I can see." She turned to walk back to the chest, which was still shining just not as bright, as she went to take a step her foot caught on something and caused her to tumble to the floor. Alexa let out a sudden shriek, as she rushed toward the wooden floor.

"Figures it would happen after the flash of blinding light."

Alexa stood and dusted herself off. She looked at what had tripped her and glared at it.

"Stupid piece of firewood, you could have killed me! You freaky freak…freak!"

As soon as she was done calling it names and rambling on, Alexa walked over to the 'stupid piece of firewood' and picked it up. It was a staff and just the right size for her. The staff was made out of red wood, which had darkened with age; near the top there was a worn place, where someone's hand would go. Alex figured that the previous owner must have had small hands because her own hand fitted the worn patch perfectly. (An: think of Gandalf's staff in the two towers. But instead of white it is a deep red and a little more feminine).

"Not bad for a stupid piece of firewood"

Now with the newly found staff in hand, Alexa turned back toward the chest. _'How odd, there is no sunlight yet it is still glowing.' _thought Alexia _'Oh, well.' _She shrugged it off and knelt down near the chest.

"Why don't we have a look see, shall we?"

She ran her to hands along the chest's lid and examined its fine craftsmanship. She went to opened it and reached in with her hands and started to take out its contents.

There was a sword, numerous daggers, and a pointed hat. Then she pulled out a fire red robe, its color matched the hat, and under it was a gray cloak that had a hood.

The last thing that she pulled out was a fair sized rectangular box that had a different animal carved onto each side of it. What stood out the most was what seemed to be a painted ruby red dragon, with two small emerald green gems for its eyes that were wrapped in flames. She noticed that if you looked close enough that the paint was in fact small slivers of ruby laid to give the impression of scales. She also noticed that all the other pictures were just as detailed as the first one. From a big tree standing proudly near a river to the smallest hair on a creature's mane, everything was there. It would have left anyone who was to look at it awestruck and in deep respect for the artist, which was exactly the way Alex was right then as she took in every little detail. She closed the chest and pushed it off to the side.

"Finally the last confounded cardboard box, I thought it would never come."

Cautiously, Alexa approached the box making sure that there was nothing to cause her to fall, trip, stumble… or otherwise cause her to be sprawled on the floor against her own choosing. Not much was found that was interesting to her, mostly old newspapers and cooking magazines with a few gossip ones in between. It was when she got ride of those things that her interest grew.

On the bottom of the box covered by all those papers and magazines were two books. Both which were leather bound, and very old by the look of it. The thicker one was a scarlet red and almost as big as the bible, while the thinner one was made of emerald green leather and about one third of the red one. Both had intricate designs on the cover in gold and silver. Alexa, being the bookworm that she is, could not find it in her heart to throw them away…. Either that or something in her told her that they are really important and to be rid of them would be a great injustice to them, and to her thirst for knowledge.

Now done with the cleaning Alex gathered all of her newly found things, including the two books, as best as she could and carried them to her room. Once she was sure she had everything that she had found and it was in her room, Alex pulled out one of her black bags and started to place all of the daggers and clothes along with the small box into it, closed the bag and placed the bag on her back. Now the only thing that she had to worry about now was how she was going to leave the house with the staff and not have Jess seeing her.

Alex peeked her head around the corner to see were Jess was; she was nowhere in sight. She came around the corner and into the kitchen and spotted a note on the table. She walked over to the table, picked up the note and began to read it. The note said:

Dear Alex,

I have gone to get some supplies for us, as I have noticed that we are running low with some things. Feel free to eat dinner without me, and please don't stay out or up too late. Remember you have school tomorrow.

Be back soon.

Jess

Alex replaced the note and helped herself to some crackers, cheese and water. Looking around she found some fruit and cake that she also took. Leaving the room she headed for the barn.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: See first chapter.  
Thanks to Beta: See first chapter also.

Chapter Three: Free, Alone, and Loving It ….

The glade was small, but that didn't bother her much. In fact that's what she liked most about it. That it was small and well hidden from anybody's eyes. The actual glade was well past the fields of Jess' farmland. It was deep within the lush forest nearing the end of their land. Its size made it harder for people to find. Only a few hunters ever went into the forest and those of her friends who did go walked by not noticing it, much to Alexa's satisfaction.

It is here that Alexa could be found lying on a blanket sprawled out on the grass, looking up at the sky and the oddly shaped clouds. Various things lay cluttered around her. Alexa inhaled deeply and with a contented sigh, and smiled.

"Finally I'm free and on my own…this rocks!"

She looked to the left and spotted her bag. Sitting up slowly she emptied out more of the bags contents. Once all was out of it, she took the robe and put it on.

The robe fitted her fine; the sleeves belled out slightly giving a renaissance feel to it. A plain leather belt came with it, which she adjusted to her size. Then to finish her attire she placed the pointed hat upon her head and, the gray cloak on her back. Satisfied with her attire Alexa picked up the sword and unsheathed it.

As she gazed at it the blade seemed to glow and flicker as if surrounded by fire. Upon the blade itself, was an inscription in slender looking runes of an ancient language. After a thorough examination of the sword and other weaponry she placed them at her waist, arms, legs, or any place she could conceal them, with the sword at her side. Finally with her outfit complete Alexa threw her head back dramatically, raised her right hand palm facing outward, while her left arm rose almost level with her shoulder. She placed a worried and confused look, or something close to it, upon her face.

"Woe is me, me is woe."

A few minutes later and still in her newly made costume Alexa once again can be found sprawled out this time on her stomach, lying upon the blanket, the emerald green book lying opened to the title page in front of her.

"There and Back Again; A Hobbits Tale, by Bilbo Baggins." She turned the page.

"Concerning hobbits…"

Alexa continued to read the green book, while eating her cheese and crackers. All was peaceful and right… Or so she thought. Little did she know that she was not alone, for from out of the forest's darkness pounced…

Alexa shrieks

… A squirrel. Alexa sprung to her feet and glared at it. There on her blanket sat the intruder next to a fallen acorn with its little beady eyes staring at her, its cheeks bulging from acorns. The black squirrel picked the acorn examined it after deciding it was worthless tossed toward Alexa as if challenging her, it landed at her feet. She looked at it then back at the squirrel, her eye twitched. Alexa picked up the acorn and threw it at the squirrel as it scurried away to the other side of the glade as fast as its little paws could carry it.

"And stay out you freak!" She dusted her hands off. "Wait a minute… Was that squirrel black?? And I thought I was freakish."

Alexa shook her head, and then shrugged her shoulders.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: See first chapter.  
Thanks to Beta: See first chapter also.

The Forgotten Ring (part two)

In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret a Master Ring to control all others. And into this Ring he poured his cruelty, his malice, and his will to dominate all life.

One Ring to rule them all.

One by one the freed lands of Middle Earth fell to the power of the Ring but there were some who resisted. A last alliance of Men and Elves marched against the armies of Mordor. And on the slopes of Mount Doom, they fought for the freedom of Middle-earth. Victory was near. But the power of the Ring could not be undone. It was in this moment, when all hope had faded, that Isildur, son of the king, took up his father's sword. And so Sauron, the enemy of the free peoples of Middle-earth, was defeated.

The Ring passed to Isildur, who had this one chance to destroy evil forever. But the hearts of men are easily corrupted. And the Ring of power has a will of its own. It betrayed Isildur to his death.

And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend; legend became myth. And for two and a half thousand years the Ring passed out of all knowledge. Until, when chance came, it ensnared a new bearer.

The Ring came to the creature Gollum who took it deep into the tunnels of the Misty Mountains. And there it consumed him. The Ring brought to Gollum unnatural long life. For 500 years it poisoned his mind. And in the gloom of Gollum's cave it waited...

Chapter Four: Dude, Where's My Blanket?

Alexa turned to go back to her blanket only to find that it's not where she left it. With a confused look on her face she scurried around looking for the missing blanket.

"Dude, where's my blanket?" she mutters out loud as she continues to look about the glade. "This always happens to me. I lay something down then can never find it again. IT'S SO FRUSTRATING!"

Eventually most of her items are found, except for two books and of course the blanket. Alexa was by now very frustrated. Glaring angrily at the glade once more for any sign of her missing items, but with no luck.

"It was a stupid blanket anyway…STUPID! Bet you one of those freakish squirrels took it."

Alexa turned around just in time to see another black squirrel prance across the other side of the glade. The squirrel pauses picking up an acorn and then looks at her, blinks, and continues on its way. Alexa's right eye twitches.

"See I knew it… It's a conspiracy, they're all out to get me, every last one." She sighed

Crestfallen Alexa sighed and then whistled for Romonia to come to her. After whistling for the third time she waited a few seconds, rustling came from near by bushes.

"It's about time you got here what took you so long, girl?"

The rustling continued. Puzzled Alexa stepped forward to see what was making the noise, as she got closer out stepped a hideous beast. It had red eyes like a demon that were filled with cruelty and malice. Its face was disfigured with many scares. The monster smiled wickedly, causing Alexa to shiver and take a step back wanting to get away. The monster snickered with glee and licked his lips.

"Looks like meats back on the menu"

Alexa's eyes widened as he walked towards her slowly. She has to think quickly, Alexa refused to be anyone's … dinner. With hopeful eyes she scanned the glade for anything that could be used as a weapon. _'Come on there must be something that I can use.'_ Just as she thought of this her hand brushed the top of the sword's hilt that was still around her waist. _'I can believe I'm so stupid. Why didn't I think of this before?'_ Alexa's shaking hands grasped the swords hilt and unsheathed it with some trouble. She raised it above her head ready to strike, only to have its unfamiliar weight force her backward and fall on to the ground on her back. Alexa tried to pull the sword toward her but to no avail. She got on to all fours and tried desperately to free it from the tree root it had got lodged in, but her effort was in vain. Alexa heard a crunching noise and she looked behind her to find the monster standing in front of her. She turned around leaning on her elbows for support then looked up at him. Her eyes filled with fear. _'Now wait why should I make it easy for him? I'm not some fruit he can just pick off a tree.'_ Her brow furled with newly found hope and determination. She stood up quickly in defiance and sprinted in the opposite direction, as fast as her legs could carry her. She didn't get very far, soon she found herself lying on the ground, wheezing painfully from the great weight pressed upon her. The monster turned her around raising his right hand that held an ugly looking knife. Adrenaline rushed throughout Alexa's body at the sight of the weapon, in desperation she begins to kick and claw to break free from his grip. With all the kicking and thrashing about that she was doing, Alexa managed to kick the knife out of the reach of them both.

Alexa struggled with something in her garment. She eventual grasped it then slashed at his face. The blade caught his cheek and sliced through it. The monster drew back with an angry cry, then smacked Alexa hard across her face. She grasped the blade harder, her adrenaline still pumping. In one last attempt to win the battle Alexa kicked him in the head as hard as she could which caused him to stand up and clutch his head in pain. She then took advantage of the monster's state to get up and thrust the blade into its chest. Alexa kicked the blade, lodging it even further in.

"Bastard"

Alexa stood in the front of him with more confidence. He twitched then fell to the ground. Once she was sure that he was dead (and it was) her defiant demeanor wavered and turned to one of pain. Alexa whimpered and grasped her foot.

"Movie stars make it look so easy and pain free… ow."

Alexa walked towards the lifeless corpse and grimaced.

"Ewwwww! That's icky, totally grotesque"

She bent down and gasped the blade with her right hand she pulled and twisted it out. A squishy sound was made as the blade was removed and black blood seeped out of the wound landing on her hand along with the creature's chest. Alexa squeamishly placed her left hand on top of her mouth.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

Dropping the blade on the grass she ran to the nearest grouping of bushes to her right and emptied the contents of her stomach onto the forest floor. Finished she leaned her right side against a near by tree and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. Behind her there was a loud rustle and then an angry growling sound. Alexa turned around cautiously. There stood five more monsters all numerous in size, shape, and wickedness.

"Not again" It was no more than a whisper to herself. Alexa stood up slowly and started taking small steps backward, then turned around suddenly and ran once again in the opposite direction every once and a while glancing over her shoulders to see the creatures behind her. That was a big mistake on her part. Once again Alexa found herself, sitting this time, on the ground with a bruised butt. She looked up in to the yellow eyes of one of those monsters. With great haste Alexa scrambled to all fours and tried franticly to crawl away, but to no avail. The creature reached down and grabbed a fist full of Alexa's hair then pulled her roughly to her feet. Alexa let out an agonizing cry of pain, her hand flew to where his hand was located and tried desperately to free her hair. The more she cried out and struggled the more the monsters laughed and mocked her. The one that held her hair said something in a dark and bizarre language, which sent cold, chills down her back causing her to shudder in terror. They laughed at what was said and Alexa was shoved forward into the circle that had formed. They continued to propel her around the circle alternately pinching and punching as she passed each of them. Around and around she went passing one hideously scared face after another each one more mocking and cruel than the next. Through the midst of all the pushing and shoving Alexa caught sight of two demonic yellow eyes staring gleefully at her and laughing. Her eyes widened and her pupils shrank as something long forgotten forced itself to the surface.

_A small girl walked towards the door and peeked through the keyhole. She watched as her mother ran for the door across from her room, but it was too late. By the time her mother reached and went to enter the room, she was surrounded by a horde of ugly, distorted, faces black as night with red demon eyes._

_The little girl watched as her mother was taunted, abused, and then brutally killed. _

Tears ran down Alexa's face and trickled down to the ground, gently saturating it.

"Nenath! Run! Hide!"

The demagogue and his fellow monsters growled and covered their ears in great dismay. He then grabbed Alexa by her collar and raised her to his face snarling at her. Without thinking, grasping another dagger from with in her robe, Alexa slashed at him.

"Atar, Nenath!" She sobbed.

The dagger's edge caught his cheek leaving a cut, blood dribbled down his chin. She was thrown to the floor and he gave a malevolent howl.

"That will cost you greatly elf!"

Reaching down his hand found its way around Alexa's neck. He picked her up and slammed her into the trunk of a near by tree. Alexa struggled for air her hands tried desperately to free her neck from the monster's malignant grip. He watched in odious pleasure at her failed attempts, he snickered.

"Scream."

Alexa refused to make a sound, and continued her struggle. His grip tightened, and he growled. Alexa's struggle for oxygen became more frantic and desperate as her air supply depleted. He lowered his face towards hers and growled once more.

"I told you to scream."

Alexa's form had grown still, and her eyes started to roll to the back of her head. She barely had enough strength to continue clawing and hitting at his hand. _This is it._ Was her last thought as she ceased her struggle, her hands felling limp at her side. She took one last look at the monster, her vision going fuzzy. There was surprise on the monster's face, and the grip around her throat loosened. She collapsed to the ground coughing and gasping for air. Her right hand flew to her throat while she leaned on her left, still gasping for air while looking at the monster. There he stood an arrow protruding from the center of its neck, and another from its chest. She looked around her, chaos had ensued. His followers ran about the glade in confusion swords drawn and arrows at the ready, many already where on the ground having suffered the same fate as their leader.

Arrows seem to rain down from a hidden source in the trees.

"This is not good, not good at all. Obviously no one is welcome here."

Alexa stayed hidden behind some bushes watching these events occur. It felt like hours had gone by until finally the battlefield had gone quiet. She parted some branches in the bushes and looked through the hole. Men came from the trees and started to gather the spent arrows for cleaning and reuse. Her heart started to pound painfully in her chest. There was a light rustle to the left, causing her to look up. Her panic increased tenfold. A figure stood covered by the shade of a near by tree most of its features were hidden. Alexa tried to scramble to her feet but her robes hindered her from doing so. She ended up half crawling and half stumbling in the opposite direction. _Stupid bothersome robe!_ With great frustration she gathered up the front of her robe to her knees and ran…um er hobbled away. She looked behind her to see if she was being followed, but oddly she wasn't. She soon found out why.

It felt like a ton of bricks hit her; the air was knocked forcefully out of her lungs. She gasped and sputtered for air, another agonizing pain pierced her side. Alexa tried to wriggle free, but to no avail. Roughly she was pulled to her feet. She tried to break free and run but she couldn't. Her captor had a firm, yet gentle hold on her arm, which had been pulled behind her back like a chicken's wing. His other arm rapped itself around her neck immobilizing her. Alexa instinctively placed her free hand on his arm gripping it tightly. She would not be escaping this time and that scared her. She whimpered as he pulled her arm up slightly behind her back. She refused to move as he stepped forward to push her along. The pressure increased on her arm, her eyes watered because of it. He stepped forward again this time she allowed him to push her in his chosen direction.

Alexa's heart started to pound faster and harder in her chest as she observed in which direction they were going. The shaded figure looked before them. As they began to get closer its features became clearer. It wasn't an 'it', but a man with long blonde hair and deep blue eyes. He was handsome in an eerie mystical sort of way.

When they finally reached him her captor pushed her down to the ground on all fours before 'blue eyes'. Alexa stared down at the ground while the exchanged words a fair sounding language. They finished talking and the distinct sound of a sword being pulled out of its sheath was heard. Looking up wide green eyes met indifferent blue. The sword was raised and commenced its descend. He reached his hand out and stopped its downward fall. There was confusion in the man's eyes that stood behind her.

"We will take her to the king."

"Legolas?"

"He then will decide her fate. Bind her hands."

"Aye sir"


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: See first chapter.  
Thanks to Beta: See first chapter also.

Chapter Five: And All Went Back

Alexa just stood there as the man bound her hands behind her back with thin silver rope. He wrapped it around her each her wrists in a figure eight and finally around both then pulled it tightly. Alexa winced as he finished the knot and stepped away. He sat down on a fallen tree and looked her over and then at her face. He seemed a bit annoyed.

"Well sit down."

Alexa plopped down in front of the tree Indian style, it was awkward and uncomfortable with her hands tied as they were, but she said nothing and just observed her captor. He had light brown hair with finely chiseled facial features. He had fair skin as did the others. He looked to be about in his late twenties early thirties, and yet his eyes said differently. He had experienced much that was clear anything beyond that was all a hypothetical. Alexa contemplated over many scenarios in her head. _Perhaps he's an orphan and was forced to grow up before he had to, in order to survive. Or…or gasp his star crossed lover was killed dramatically and he morns her loss to this very day…that would be so romantic…._

Alexa must have fallen asleep because the next thing that she remembered was being pulled roughly to her feet as her eyes fluttered opened and a make shift leading rope was placed around her neck. The rope was pulled taunt as the man with greenish-grey eyes walked forward; Alexa went to take a step forward as well only to find that her legs had fallen asleep. She flailed quite a bit barely taking two steps before she collapsed to her knees on the ground. The rope tightened further which caused the rest of her body to fall forward. She now lay on the ground on her stomach unable to lift her self up to walk, the rope tightened further almost preventing her from breathing. A man lifted her up then walked away. She continued to walk as the tingling sensation slowly left her legs. As she did so, the rope slacked.

The group, consisting of three women including Alexa and seven men, moved deeper into the forest. Alexa took in her surroundings, as with each passing step the darkness of the forest became more unbearable almost to the point of suffocation. She was just about to collapse from a mix of exhaustion and pain when the party came to a halt on the orders from the man named Legolas that they were to rest here tonight. She stood still in her place not knowing what to do. She brought her arms down and stepped through them in order to relieve her shoulders from the coward position and pain. The 'leash' as Alexa called it became taught and pulled her a step forward, taking her by surprise. Alexa became enraged. _Alright that's enough of this crap, tying my hands is one thing, but treating me like an animal is another, enough is enough. _Alexa grabbed a hold of the rope with her newly semi-freed hands; she wrapped the rope around once for leverage and gave it a hard tug. It pulled the man back slightly and wretched the rope free from his hand. He looked back at her, surprised by the sudden movement. She glared at him, he glared back. There was some snickering form behind him, upon hearing it he turned to find the two female guards laughing at him. They quickly stopped only to start again when his back was turned.

"Ninna, Isolde don't you have jobs to do?"

With a muffled 'Yes sir!' the two guards returned to their duties a smile played over their lips as they fought to suppress more laughter. He smiled then glanced back at their prisoner and continued his glare. He extended his arm forward grasped hold of the rope and gave it a tug.

Alexa was shocked by the strength that came form his small tug and soon found herself with her face in the dirt. She lifted her head up and tried to suppress a cough as she glanced up at him, her attempt fail and she sprung into a coughing fit. Once it past she gathered what was left of her injured pride and crawled to a near by tree with her tail between her legs. _Alright buddy you win, I yield. _

His gaze stayed on her as she made her way to the tree she curled up in to a ball and closed her eyes to sleep. His face turned solemn as he looked over her huddled form. She had no major external wounds, but internally she was in pain even though she refused to show it. He walked over to his gear and retrieved his medical bag, crossing the small distance he stood before the curled up form.

Alexa felt the presence of the form looming over her; she closed her eyes tighter and evened out her breathing. _Maybe if I pretend to be asleep, who ever it is will leave me alone. _ The person nudged her shoulder gently, but Alexa refused to give up the charade she refused to move at all. She felt the rope around her wrists loosen and slip off, freeing her hands. She opened her eyes bringing her hands to her face, she examined them closely; both wrists. She rubbed each wrist surprised they weren't marked or sore. She looked at the man with the green eyes, and watched as he removed the rope from around her neck to around her right ankle. He observed her as she sat up slowly, in one hand he held the rope in the other he held a bag; its contents unknown. Alexa analyzed her surroundings, and assisted her possibility for an escape. Should she risk it? She was out numbered nine to one and was still bound by a leash; she decided against it and remained seated, resting her back against the tree. She watched him, with half closed eyes, as he knelt down beside her setting a side the rope and placing the bag in front of him; he opened it. Alexa's eyes started to drift shut, her body in need of sleep. She was interrupted however by something tugging on the front laces of her robe. Her eyes shot opened. Alexa shrieked indignantly she drew an opened hand back then brought it across. A loud smack resounded as opened palm meet a finely chiseled cheek. There was an even louder round of curses and profanities that fallowed. Alexa stood up, turning her back to the man as she tightened and retied her laces. She glared over her shoulder at his form; he was now gathering his bag and the rope, all the while murmuring under his breath in a foreign language, complaining most likely. His cheek was already starting to swell slightly. Everybody else had been too busy with their own jobs to have noticed what had transpierced or if they had they were secretly laughing to themselves. Alexa decided it was the latter. She walked cautiously recently lit fire testing the reach of the rope. Seeing that there was enough she sat down near it. She had started staring into the fire's flames when something caught her attention obliquely left of her, in the foreground of the forest, there had been a movement.

Alexa tensed, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Something was wrong, danger was near she could feel it even though it was now too dark to see. She squinted her eyes in the direction of the movement, and then scanned the area near by. That's when she saw it. Her blood drained from her face as she paled. It was one of those monster things from before and it was armed with a bow and arrow. She looked from the menacing projectile to its target and then back. She struggled with the rope around her ankle, she focused was brought back to the bowstring as it was released. Alexa scrabbled to her feet and trusted her self forward as fast as she could. The knot unfastened as the small distance between her and the monsters target pulled the rope taunt, time seemed to slow down until finally Alexa's right shoulder collided with that of Legolas' chest. Their bodies meet the forest ground in a flurry of entangled limbs and robe as if someone had pressed the fast forward button on a DVD player. She felt her right shoulder pop and crack form ramming into Legolas, followed by a sharp piercing pain, which shot through Alexa's left shoulder. The pain increased and worsened after a loud snap of wood breaking as she collided with the ground. They rolled forward a bit from the force of the impact; air was forced from Alexa's lungs as Legolas landed on top of her. Suddenly she was pulled to her feet by strong arms and was half dragged, half pulled by Legolas' hand on her left arm. Alexa had no choice but to follow as best as she could and watched as he started to shout out commands. He was a born leader that much was certain.

When they reached an old tree surrounded by tall underbrush Legolas shoved her towards it, her back hitting hard against its trunk. Alexa remained where she had been thrown.

"Stay here."

His voice was firm and left no room for arguing. Alexa nodded at his command and crouched down hiding within the foliage, she pulled her cloak tighter around herself. There was a rustle from behind as she turned to look all went black…


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: See first chapter.  
Thanks to Beta: See first chapter also.

* * *

Chapter Six: A Sack Of Potatoes

Alexa awoke to a jostling motion and a pounding sensation in her head, her hands were once again bound and dangled in front of her. A putrid smell reached her nostrils "_not a again"_ she thought, her wrists chaffed as her arms jiggled with her captors running motion. _ "Great, now I'm a sack of potatoes." _Alexa tried to calculate what she should do. In the end she reached for the dagger she had hidden between the many layers of clothing that she was wearing, With difficulty she removed the dagger and thrust hard upwards sinking it into the only part of her captor that was not covered in chain mail, it's neck.

There were gurgling noises followed by a loud thud as the dead creature and Alexa fell to the forest's floor, "_I think I'm getting the hang of this whole dagger and sword thing." _She thought as she wiggled out from underneath the corpse pulling her dagger from the body as she did so. Quickly she scampered under the nearest bush. It took several moments to free her hands from the rough rope. Suddenly from nowhere a black gnarled hand snaked around her face. Alexa dropped the dagger to clutch the right side of her face, she felt warm liquid and the smell of fresh blood reached her nose. She felt a hand tangle in her hair; her head was jerked up sharply. Blinking she stared into yellow cat like eyes as her hands flew to her hair and the hand within it. Alexa's eyes followed the monster's free hand as it was raised high above her; it held a rusty old sword in it, her eyes widened in terror at the sight of the hideous thing. Frantically her eyes searched everywhere, hoping to find Legolas or green eyes somewhere nearby ready to fire an arrow and rescue her. But neither was, behind her a harsh voice sounded.

"He wants her alive and unspoiled!"

The grip on her hair lessened and then vanished all together as the two monsters started to argue. Taking the opportunity given to her Alexa eased slowly away from the arguing pair. When she saw they hadn't noticed her movements she scrambled to her feet and hobbled away as fast as she could. Before she had gone very far she heard a voice shout.

"After her, she's getting away!"

Alexa quickened her pace, running as fast as she could. Three branches caught her clothes but she kept on running trying not to look back. There were more than two chasing her now and the sound of their heavy strides were getting closer. Giving in she looked behind her only to see that they were almost upon her, as she turned back she was met with Legolas, Isolde, Ninna, and some of the others standing before her bows at the ready, arrows drawn. In a split second she threw herself down and curled up into a ball, her hands wrapped around her head in order to protect herself. She heard the archers release their arrows, there was a thud as each of the arrows found their mark. Alexa crawled to the trunk of a nearby tree and got to her feet. Seeing that there would be more fighting and carnage Alexa climbed up a tree seeking safety within its branches. She gathered herself together bringing her knees to her chest and rested her head on them, she closed her eyes. The sound of heavy metal passes by warning her of the threat down on the ground. " _I'll be safe up here_." She thought

A few moments passed when Alexa got a feeling she was being watched. She looked to the left then to the right then slowly her eyes travelled upwards. Eight huge black eyeballs stared back at her, hanging from a strand of webbing thick enough to be used as rope, hung the biggest black spider Alexa had ever seen. There was only one thing that Alexa could do… scream, as she did so she lost her balance and began to fall out of the tree, escaping the spider's clutches. She fell fast toward the ground hitting branches along the way down. She closed her eyes in anticipation of hitting the ground, but it never came. Lucky for her Legolas and his group had finished their last bout with the ugly creatures and had been closes by. He had been cleaning off his knives when he had heard her scream and looked up, he had quickly dropped his knives just in time to catch her. As he placed her feet on the ground steadying her so she wouldn't fall, a shout rung out.

"Spider!"

"Erynion! Take her back and make sure she doesn't run off!"

Green eyes came over and took her by the arm and dragged her away from him. " _Not more ropes."_ And indeed there was more rope, her hands were bound as she watched as the remaining eight fought the spider killing it with arrows. It twitched a few times and became still, then Legolas spoke out.

" We must make haste, we'll gather our things and continue onward. We must make it back tonight."

The party pressed onward deeper into the woods. Their path eventually led them to another clearing that was bigger then the first. What she saw before her as they emerged from the tree's foliage was breathtaking; in front of her was a clearing of trees with a river running through it. A bridge had been built over the river that lead to a gigantic pair of double doors that where carved out of the mountainside. Birds flew overhead and squirrels scurried on the ground collecting food. The tranquillity of the scene before her was broken as she was shoved forward to continue to walk. The group approached the doors, as they did so they started to open. Alexa looked around for any evidence of guards or sentinels but found none. As they entered the cave she was surprised by how well her new surroundings looked, not like a cave at all, the passages were well lit by torchlight. The passageways were of a moderate size, twisting and turning about as they marched onward to their final destination. The air smelled clean and crisp to Alexa. It was a relief when they finally reached their destination; a great hall with pillars that had been carved out of the mountains stone and polished to perfection. Alexa's jaw dropped as she gazed at its splendour the likes of which she had only seen and read about in her history books. Her eyes followed the rows of pillars up the center of the hall to a carved wooden throne upon which sat a man holding a staff of carved oak, upon his brow laid a crown made of berries and leaves. _ "He must be the king." She thought._

Alexa was once again brought back from her wonderings as she fell forward landing on her knees her hands rested in front of her still bound. She looked up at the man from under her dishevelled hair. The man's face looked stern, his deep blue eyes shifted from her to someone that was standing behind her, he nodded his head slightly in their direction then returned his gaze to her. He watched and waited as Legolas helped the girl up and freed her hands then returned to his spot a few steps away. Alexa stood nervously before him rubbing her wrist where the rope had been. Alexa avoided looking the King in the eyes. She fidgeted nervously under his gaze, a sharp pulse of pain passed through her body, which caused her posture to concave in further. Alexa prayed silently to herself that she wouldn't collapse.

The King interrogated her asking her many questions Alexa remained silent throughout this greatly angered the king and he raised his voice quite a bit. He was obviously aggravated about something other then her presence and her silence only made it worse. He rose from his throne and quickly approached her, grasping her roughly by her chin and forcing her to look him in the eyes.

" It is a crime to enter into my realm without my leave!" he hissed, " I have every right to know what business brings you to my woods, if you will not tell me then so be it." The king turned to Legolas and the others. "Guards, take her away, perhaps some time in the dungeons will make her talk."

The king released his grip on her chin as Legolas and Erynion stepped forward to take her away. Alexa was taken through many passages until they reached a flight of stairs that lead down to the deepest, darkest place located in the Kings palace. As they descended the stairs Alexa's legs wobbled in protest and threatened to give out from under her. When they finally entered the dungeons, she saw that they weren't like most dungeons, they were not at all foul, and they were nothing at all how Alexa had pictured them to be. She was led to a cell and was pushed inside, stumbling to the floor; she crawled to a corner where she sat and gathered her knees to her chest, her body ached all over, she was exhausted. She looked up and watched as the two men left closing the door behind them. The darkness surrounded her and she was alone, her eyelids started to droop until the darkness at last consumed her entirely.

"It has been odd these few days past. Too many travellers have wandered into our woods; they are up to something. Can you feel it in the air? Change is upon us."

The king stopped writing and set aside his quill, folding his hands together resting them on top of the pile of parchments as he regarded the two figures standing before him in his private study.

"Whether it be for good or ill, I can not say." He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms in front of his chest; his brow furled as matters continued to be of serious matters. "And now what of this girl, who is she and why was she wandering in my woods? And with Orcs nonetheless."

Legolas was the first to speak out.

"With all due respect my lord, she was greatly disquieted by their presence. I don't believe she is in league with them."

"That doesn't prove anything."

This time Erynion stepped forth to speak.

"She put up quiet a fight, she killed two of them, my liege. It was quiet evident that she wanted little to do with them and their dark ways."

"Does she speak? Did she tell you anything during your journey back?" Legolas answered him this time.

"We have reason to believe that she can, before we happened upon her we heard someone, a female cry out."

"What were her words?"

"They were muffled..."

Erynion interjected. "I believe her words were; Nenath. Run. Hide."

The sovereign's posture tensed, he stiffened and came to the edge of his seat as his eyebrows arched upward. His gaze turned to Legolas and his arms rested once again before him on his desk's top.

"Did you search the surrounding area?"

"We did my lord, there was no one else to be found."

"Perhaps she was merely at the wrong place at the wrong time, Lord Thranduil." Erynion concluded nonchalantly.

"Perhaps...than again perhaps not. Her intentions are unclear. Is there anything else?"

"These are hers, sire."

Erynion step forward to present Thranduil with Alexa's belongings, he placed them on the desk in front of his king. Thranduil regarded the sword and the travelling sack that was placed before him, he opened it and spilt out its contents. Three pairs of eyebrows lifted as the contents of the sack lay spread before them. Out had fallen a box with animal carvings on it, but that wasn't what had caused their reaction. It was what had fallen on top of the box that had. A set of ten shinny pale, almost white, silver throwing knives lay neatly in their belt like sheaths. Thranduil spoke first.

"When a lone woman has need of such trinkets it is indeed a dark time. Is that all?"

"No, there is one other thing"

Erynion made his way quickly to the door which he opened just enough to stick his head through to the other side. He talked to a royal guard standing at his post. They shared a few quick words and the guard handed him one other item, a staff almost as tall as he give or take a few inches.

"We also recovered this, a staff of sorts."

He then returned to the king's desk and placed the staff on top of his desk with the other items. Legolas and Erynion waited for the kings' response, he took a few minutes to gather his thoughts. He was about to speak but was interrupted as the double doors to the study burst open drawing their attention to a dishevelled messenger who ran across the room and stood before his king.

"My Lord, your presence is needed in the Great Hall, the other patrol party will be returning shortly."

The king raised an eyebrow as if to say 'you waste my time to tell me this?' The messenger clears his throat and fusses with his cloak pin nervously.

"They bring more prisoners, Sir."

"I'll be there shortly, you may go."

Thranduil waited until the messenger left to continue. He stood up from his chair and walk around his desk to join Legolas and Erynion.

"I'll trust you two to keep quiet. These happenings weigh heavily in my mind they do not bode well with me. We'll continue on with these matters later, if you'll excuse me I am needed elsewhere. You are dismissed."

The two turn to leave. Thranduil turned to his desk glancing at the various articles sprawled over its surface, he remembered one last thing. He looked back at the two before they could reach the door.

" Wait. Before you leave. The girl. See to it that she is tended to." Legolas and Erynion looked at the king inquisitively. "She was barely able to stand let alone walk by herself She is wounded see to it that she is looked over by a healer."

"Anything else, sir?"

Thranduils attention had been drawn back to his desk by a sudden shimmer of light. He extended his right arm towards them gesturing them to leave with a flick of his wrist.

"No that is all, you may go."

Thranduil heard the door shut behind him as Legolas and Erynion exited his study. He crossed the distance between him and his desk in search of the shimmering. He located the source picking it up he held the object up into the candle light for further examination. It was a small rectangular box with different animals carved onto each side. What caught Thranduils attention the most was the ruby red dragon wrapped in flames that had been painted on the top panel. He walked around his desk and sat down in his chair. He placed the small box down on his desk in front and stared at it for a moment in hesitation, then proceeded to open it reluctant to see the contents within.

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Annunciation: Erynion(o_f the woods_ ) Air-oon-ee-on 


End file.
